Google Rank Tracker - Keyword SERP Alerts & AI

Track Google rankings by keyword, country, and language. Paste search queries into this keyword rank tracker and get structured SERP results, rank-change snapshots, People Also Ask questions, featured snippets, webhook alerts, and optional AI SEO briefs.

Best first run

{
  "queries": ["how to choose a crm for a small business"],
  "maxResults": 10,
  "country": "us",
  "language": "en",
  "includePeopleAlsoAsk": true,
  "includeRelatedSearches": true,
  "trackSerpDiff": false,
  "enableAiAnalysis": false
}

Use this actor when you need a lightweight Google rank tracker, SERP export, featured-snippet monitor, or SEO research feed without paying for a full Ahrefs or Semrush subscription. Start with one query and 10 results, then enable trackSerpDiff and alertWebhookUrl for scheduled rank-change alerts.

Output: clean SERP result rows in the default dataset, operational diagnostics in a separate diagnostics dataset, and rank-change records in a dedicated rank diffs dataset when tracking is enabled.

Good fit: SEOs, content teams, affiliate publishers, agencies, growth teams, and rank-tracking SaaS builders.

Not magic: Google can rate-limit repeated commercial queries. Keep first runs small; if you see block_detected: true, wait a minute, reduce batch size, or use residential proxy.

The actor uses dynamic Apify memory sizing: a one-query smoke test starts at the safe 1024 MB Playwright floor, while multi-query, paginated, AI-analysis, or alerting runs scale up automatically. That keeps exploratory runs stable without asking users to tune memory manually.

Track SERP rankings and run AI SEO audits for $0.003/organic result - a pay-as-you-go alternative to Ahrefs ($129/mo), Semrush ($139/mo), and SERPRobot ($49/mo) rank trackers. A default 10-result keyword costs about $0.03 when Google returns results; blocked or zero-result queries are not charged. Extract organic listings, featured snippets, knowledge panels, People Also Ask, and related searches across 30+ countries, with cross-run diff mode, push webhooks, optional 5-provider AI SEO analysis, x402-ready PPE, and a Skyfire bundle for agent payments.

What it does

Google Search Scraper runs headless Chromium via Playwright to render Google's search results pages exactly as a real browser would - defeating the JavaScript-only detection that blocks simple HTTP scrapers. For every query you provide, it extracts the full SERP: organic results with title, URL, snippet, and position; featured snippets; knowledge panel entities; People Also Ask questions; and related searches. Results are localized by country code (gl) and language code (hl), so you get the same page a user in Germany, Japan, or Brazil would see.

Beyond raw extraction, the actor solves three real problems without requiring a SaaS subscription:

Rank tracking at a fraction of SaaS cost. Enable diff mode (trackSerpDiff: true) to snapshot SERP positions across scheduler runs. On every run the actor compares top-10 URLs against the previous snapshot keyed by (query, country, language), flags domains that moved 2+ positions, identifies new entries and dropped domains, and records featured-snippet source changes - the same functionality that drives $50-200/month in Ahrefs, Semrush, and SERPRobot subscriptions.

Push-based webhook alerts. Point alertWebhookUrl at any Slack incoming webhook, Zapier catch-hook, Make scenario, or custom endpoint. Whenever a tracked query's SERP shifts significantly, the actor POSTs a structured JSON diff payload - no polling, no dashboard refreshes. Wire into Slack for an ops-channel alert or into n8n/Make to route rank-drops to email and rank-climbs to a Notion log.

AI SEO analysis per query. Enable enableAiAnalysis and choose your LLM provider (OpenRouter, Anthropic, Google AI, OpenAI, or self-hosted Ollama). The actor classifies search intent, identifies content gaps against the current top-10, and produces keyword and content recommendations - functionality that typically requires a separate SEO audit tool.

SEOs, content strategists, growth teams, and rank-tracking SaaS builders use this actor to monitor competitive positions and automate SERP intelligence at scale.

Features

• Playwright browser rendering: Uses headless Chromium to render Google's JavaScript-heavy pages, bypassing anti-bot measures that block simple HTTP requests
• Full organic result extraction: Title, URL, displayed URL, snippet text, and position for every ranking result
• Featured snippet extraction: Captures the answer box when Google serves one, including source URL and snippet text
• Knowledge panel extraction: Extracts entity facts, descriptions, and structured data from knowledge panels
• People Also Ask: Captures PAA questions shown alongside results - ideal for content planning and FAQ targeting
• Related searches: Extracts suggestions from the bottom of the SERP for keyword expansion
• Multi-country support: Pass any ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (us, gb, de, fr, jp, br, in, etc.) to localize results
• Multi-language support: Pass any ISO 639-1 language code (en, de, fr, es, ja, pt, zh) to filter by result language
• Bulk query processing: Submit multiple queries in one run - each produces a separate output item
• Pagination: Automatically fetches up to 10 pages to collect up to 100 organic results per query
• Rank-tracker diff mode: Cross-run SERP snapshots stored per (query, country, language) triple with rank-change detection - replaces dedicated SaaS rank trackers
• Webhook alerts: Fire-and-forget POST to Slack / Zapier / Make / n8n / custom endpoints on significant SERP movements (2+ position shifts, new/dropped top-10 domains, featured-snippet flips)
• AI SEO analysis: Search intent classification, keyword insights, content gap analysis, and content structure recommendations via 5 LLM providers
• Multi-LLM support: OpenRouter (300+ models, recommended), Anthropic Claude, Google AI Gemini, OpenAI GPT, or self-hosted Ollama
• Pay-per-result pricing: Only billed for organic results returned - blocked runs cost nothing

Head-to-head: vs apify/google-search-scraper

This Actor competes directly against Apify's official apify/google-search-scraper (~116K users, 4.8/5, 125 reviews). Where each wins:

Feature	This Actor (harvestlab)	apify/google-search-scraper
Cross-run rank-change tracker	Yes - diff mode with per-(query, country, language) snapshots	No - not offered
SERP-change webhook alerts	Yes - Slack / Zapier / n8n / Make / custom on rank shifts	No - not offered
AI SEO analysis	Yes - 5-provider router (OpenRouter / Anthropic / Google / OpenAI / Ollama) for intent / gaps / content recommendations	No - has "AI search mode" (Perplexity / ChatGPT search), a different feature, not SEO
Featured snippet + knowledge panel extraction	Yes - both	Partial - PAA documented; featured snippets and knowledge panels not explicit
People Also Ask	Yes - full	Yes - full
Multi-country	Yes - 30+ countries	Yes - supported
Per-result price	$0.003 / organic result	$0.0018 / page
Total users / rating	New (volume gap)	116K / 4.8/5

Why use this actor over a raw SERP fetcher? Because apify/google-search-scraper returns search data, while this Actor adds rank-tracker state, webhook alerts, routed operational datasets, and optional AI SEO briefs. A 50-keyword daily top-10 tracker costs about $1.50/day before optional AI, with first-run baselines and blocked queries not charged. If you only need raw SERP pages at bulk scale, the official actor may be cheaper; if you need diffs and alerts wired into Slack/n8n/Make, this actor removes that glue work.

If you only want raw SERP HTML and you'll do diffing/alerts yourself, Apify's official actor is cheaper. If you want a turnkey rank-tracker that fires Slack alerts when your competitor gains a featured snippet, this Actor is built for that workflow.

Use Cases

Each use case below shows the SaaS tool you'd otherwise pay for and the workload shape where this actor fits best: small-to-medium tracked keyword sets, targeted SERP research, alerts, and AI-ready exports with no monthly minimum.

• Daily rank tracking - Replace Ahrefs Lite ($129/mo), SEMrush Pro ($139.95/mo), SE Ranking Essential ($65/mo), or SERPRobot Pro ($49/mo) for focused keyword sets. Schedule this actor daily with trackSerpDiff: true and Slack alerts: 50 keywords at top 10 costs about $1.50/day, while a lean top-1 movement check costs about $0.15/day. The serp_diff item gives you the same rank-change feed those dashboards build their alerting on.
• SERP competitor monitoring - Replace the position-tracker tier of Ahrefs ($129/mo) or SEMrush ($139.95/mo). Track which domains hold top-10 spots for your money keywords and POST to Slack/n8n when a competitor gains or drops 2+ positions. Real-time, push-based, no dashboard refresh required.
• SEO keyword research at scale - Replace Ahrefs Keywords Explorer or SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool for SERP-side research. A 100-keyword top-10 pull costs about $3 as one-shot data - you keep the raw JSON, not a locked dashboard. Pair with enableAiAnalysis for $0.05 per query of intent classification, content gaps, and recommended content structure (typical AI SEO tools like Surfer SEO ($89/mo) or MarketMuse ($149/mo) sell the same insight).
• Content brief generation - Pull PAA questions, related searches, and the current top-10 for a target keyword, then feed enableAiAnalysis: true to get a draft H2/H3 outline, target word count, and competitive gaps. Replaces the brief-builder feature of Frase ($45/mo), MarketMuse ($149/mo), or Clearscope ($189/mo) at about $0.08/brief for a top-10 pull plus AI analysis.
• Featured-snippet & PAA opportunity hunting - Filter datasets where featured_snippet is null to find queries where the answer box is unclaimed, or where it cites a weak source you can outrank. Replaces the "SERP features" report in Ahrefs/SEMrush at fractional cost.
• Multi-market localized SEO - Run the same query across country: us / gb / de / fr / jp / br and diff the SERPs to see which content travels and which markets need localized landing pages. Replaces the multi-location tier of AccuRanker ($129/mo) or Wincher ($60/mo).
• Affiliate & content-arbitrage discovery - Score SERPs for commercial-intent queries where the top-10 are weak (low DR placeholders, AI-generated thin content). The domain and snippet fields plus AI competitive-gap analysis surface keywords where a real piece of content can rank - replaces parts of Niche Hunter workflows in SEMrush or Ahrefs.
• Lead generation from local & niche queries - Extract business URLs from "plumber [city]", "[industry] consultant near me", or B2B intent queries to feed into a CRM. SERP-based lead lists are an alternative to ZoomInfo ($14,995/yr seat) or Apollo ($59/mo seat) for top-of-funnel domain discovery.
• Brand & reputation monitoring - Schedule daily SERP runs for your brand name + variants and alert via webhook when a negative third-party page enters top-10 or your own domain drops. Replaces the brand-mention tier of Brand24 ($99/mo) or Mention ($49/mo) for SERP-specific monitoring.
• AI SEO analysis without a separate tool - enableAiAnalysis returns search intent, competition level, content recommendations, competitive gaps, and featured-snippet strategy in one pass for $0.05/query. Replaces buying both a rank tracker AND an AI SEO tool - typical stack is Ahrefs ($129/mo) + Surfer SEO ($89/mo) = $218/mo; this actor covers both surfaces.
• Academic & data-journalism research - SERP data for studies on information retrieval, search bias, media coverage patterns, election-cycle ranking, or localization effects. Pay only for the queries you actually run; no annual seat cost.

Input

Search Parameters

Field	Type	Default	Description
queries	string[]	-	One or more search queries. Each produces a separate output item.
maxResults	integer	10	Max organic results per query (1-100). Values above 10 require pagination (+2-3s per extra page).
country	string	us	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code for geo-targeted results (us, gb, de, jp, etc.).
language	string	en	ISO 639-1 language code for result language (en, de, fr, es, ja, etc.).
includePeopleAlsoAsk	boolean	true	Extract PAA questions.
includeRelatedSearches	boolean	true	Extract related search suggestions.
includeFeaturedSnippet	boolean	true	Extract the featured snippet / answer box.
includeKnowledgePanel	boolean	true	Extract knowledge panel entity data.

SERP Diff / Rank Tracker

Field	Type	Default	Description
trackSerpDiff	boolean	false	Enable cross-run rank tracking. Snapshots top-10 URLs per (query, country, language) and emits a serp_diff item with rank changes on every subsequent run.
alertWebhookUrl	string	-	POST a JSON diff payload here when a tracked query's change_score meets the threshold. Auto-enables trackSerpDiff.
alertMinChangeScore	integer	2	Minimum change score to fire a webhook (1 = any change, higher = less noise).

AI Analysis Settings

Field	Type	Default	Description
enableAiAnalysis	boolean	false	Enable AI-powered SEO analysis. Requires a provider API key.
llmProvider	string	openrouter	Provider: openrouter (recommended), anthropic, google, openai, or ollama.
openrouterApiKey	string	-	OpenRouter API key. Set OPENROUTER_API_KEY env var OR this input. Get one at https://openrouter.ai/keys.
anthropicApiKey	string	-	Anthropic API key. Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY env var OR this input. Get one at https://console.anthropic.com/settings/keys.
googleApiKey	string	-	Google AI API key. Set GOOGLE_API_KEY env var OR this input. Get one at https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey.
openaiApiKey	string	-	OpenAI API key. Set OPENAI_API_KEY env var OR this input. Get one at https://platform.openai.com/api-keys.
ollamaBaseUrl	string	http://localhost:11434	Ollama base URL for self-hosted inference. Set this input or run Ollama locally; install at https://ollama.com/download.
llmModel	string	-	Optional model override. Leave empty for provider defaults.

Proxy Settings

Field	Type	Description
proxyConfiguration	object	Proxy settings. Residential proxy is strongly recommended for popular head-term queries to avoid Google CAPTCHA blocks. Default: Apify RESIDENTIAL group.

Google aggressively throttles common commercial queries ("best CRM software", "ai news 2026", "buy laptop") from datacenter IPs and returns a reCAPTCHA / "unusual traffic" page. The default proxy is {"useApifyProxy": true, "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]} - each retry rotates to a fresh household IP. You are never charged for blocked queries.

CLI aliases (hidden from Console form): query, searchQuery, searchTerm, q, search, and keyword all map to queries[]; maxItems maps to maxResults; webhookUrl and slackWebhookUrl map to alertWebhookUrl.

Output

The actor writes to multiple datasets so exports stay clean:

• SERP Results Dataset - default buyer-facing records: one row per successful query, plus successful AI SEO analysis records when enabled.
• Diagnostics Dataset - invalid input, blocked or zero-result queries, AI-analysis failures, and webhook dispatch summaries.
• Rank Diffs Dataset - serp_diff records from cross-run rank tracking when trackSerpDiff or alertWebhookUrl is enabled.

Per-query result item

Each successful query produces one output item pushed to the default SERP Results Dataset:

Field	Type	Description
query	string	The search query used
country	string	Country code used
language	string	Language code used
total_results_text	string	Google's "About X results" count text
organic_results_count	integer	Number of organic results extracted
organic_results	object[]	Ranked list of organic results (see below)
people_also_ask	string[]	PAA questions (empty array if none or disabled)
related_searches	string[]	Related search suggestions (empty array if none or disabled)
featured_snippet	object|null	Featured snippet data if Google serves one
knowledge_panel	object|null	Knowledge panel entity data if present
scraped_at	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of the scrape

Organic result object

Field	Type	Description
position	integer	Rank position (1 = top)
title	string	Page title as shown in search results
url	string	Full canonical URL
domain	string	Root domain extracted from the URL (e.g. forbes.com)
displayed_url	string	URL as displayed by Google (breadcrumb format)
snippet	string	Description text under the title

SERP diff item (rank-tracker mode)

When trackSerpDiff: true, an additional serp_diff item is emitted per query in the Rank Diffs Dataset:

Field	Type	Description
type	string	Always "serp_diff"
query	string	Search query
change_score	integer	Total significant changes detected
rank_changes	object[]	Domains that moved 2+ positions (rank_now, rank_previous, rank_delta, direction)
new_entries	object[]	Domains new to the tracked top-10
dropped_entries	object[]	Domains that left the tracked top-10
featured_snippet_changed	boolean	Whether the featured snippet source flipped
snapshot_at	string	ISO 8601 timestamp
hours_since_last_snapshot	number	Hours elapsed since the prior snapshot

AI analysis fields (when enabled)

When enableAiAnalysis: true, each query result includes an ai_analysis object with:

• search_intent - informational / commercial / transactional / navigational
• competition_level - low / medium / high
• keyword_insights - primary intent, long-tail opportunities, PAA-derived questions
• content_recommendations - optimized title, H2/H3 outline, target word count
• competitive_gaps - opportunities the current top-10 is missing
• featured_snippet_strategy - how to win the answer box for this query

Pricing

Event	When charged	Price
serp-result-scraped	Per organic Google result returned	$0.003
ai-analysis-completed	Per query when AI SEO analysis runs	$0.05
serp-change-detected	Per query with a significant SERP change vs prior run	$0.002
alert-dispatched	Per successfully delivered webhook alert (2xx response)	$0.002

vs. commercial alternatives: SerpAPI charges $50/mo for 5,000 searches ($0.01/search); DataForSEO charges $1.50/1,000 SERPs; Bright Data SERP API costs $3/1,000 results. This actor uses pay-per-event at $0.003 per organic result with no monthly minimum, Playwright-rendered JavaScript SERPs, rank diffs, alert webhooks, and optional AI SEO analysis.

Blocked queries (CAPTCHA / 0 results) are never charged. Keep maxResults at 10 for first runs so each successful keyword is capped at about $0.03 before optional AI or alert events.

Skyfire bulk bundle (AI-agent payment rail)

A skyfire-bundle-1500-results event ships at $5.00 per 1,500 SERP results for AI agents paying via the Skyfire JWT rail. Effective rate: $0.00333/result for prepaid agent-payment-rail compatibility; standard x402-ready PPE users are billed per organic result. Skyfire is opt-in for agents that need single-prepaid-call billing semantics.

Output example

{
    "query": "best project management software 2026",
    "country": "us",
    "language": "en",
    "total_results_text": "About 142,000,000 results",
    "organic_results_count": 10,
    "organic_results": [
        {
            "position": 1,
            "title": "Best Project Management Software of 2026 - Forbes Advisor",
            "url": "https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/best-project-management-software/",
            "domain": "forbes.com",
            "displayed_url": "forbes.com > advisor > business",
            "snippet": "We tested and compared 20+ project management tools..."
        }
    ],
    "people_also_ask": [
        "What is the best project management tool in 2026?",
        "Is Monday.com better than Asana?"
    ],
    "related_searches": [
        "project management software free",
        "best project management software for small teams"
    ],
    "featured_snippet": null,
    "knowledge_panel": null,
    "scraped_at": "2026-04-24T10:30:00Z"
}

Quick Start

Basic SERP scrape - 10 results for one keyword:

{
    "queries": ["best CRM software 2026"],
    "maxResults": 10,
    "country": "us",
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
    }
}

Cost: about $0.03 when 10 organic results are returned. Returns title, URL, snippet, position for 10 results + PAA + related searches.

Multiple queries in one run:

{
    "queries": [
        "best project management software",
        "asana vs monday vs clickup",
        "project management tools for agencies"
    ],
    "maxResults": 20,
    "country": "us"
}

Localized search (Germany):

{
    "queries": ["beste Projektmanagement Software"],
    "maxResults": 10,
    "country": "de",
    "language": "de"
}

Daily rank tracker with Slack alerts:

{
    "queries": ["my target keyword", "competitor keyword"],
    "trackSerpDiff": true,
    "alertWebhookUrl": "https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR/SLACK/WEBHOOK",
    "alertMinChangeScore": 2,
    "country": "us"
}

Schedule this run daily via Apify Scheduler. The first run establishes the baseline (not charged for diff events). Subsequent runs emit a serp_diff item and POST to Slack whenever positions shift 2+ places, new domains enter top 10, or a featured snippet flips. A 50-keyword top-10 daily tracker costs about $1.50/day before optional AI; lower maxResults for lean movement checks.

With AI SEO analysis:

{
    "queries": ["email marketing platforms"],
    "maxResults": 30,
    "enableAiAnalysis": true,
    "llmProvider": "openrouter",
    "openrouterApiKey": "sk-or-..."
}

Returns full SERP data plus ai_analysis with intent classification, content gaps, keyword opportunities, and a recommended content structure.

MCP Quickstart - call this actor from Claude / Cursor / ChatGPT

Open Apify's hosted MCP configurator at mcp.apify.com, or install the Apify MCP server in your AI agent of choice:

# Claude Code
claude mcp add apify -- npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server --token YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN

# Claude Desktop / Cursor (add to mcp.json):
{"mcpServers":{"apify":{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@apify/actors-mcp-server","--token","YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"]}}}

Then prompt the agent:

"Use the harvestlab/google-search-scraper actor on Apify to track our Google rankings for ['ai code editor', 'ai pair programming'] across US/UK/DE/FR with featured snippet detection - fire a webhook on rank changes. Push the results back as JSON."

Through Apify MCP, the agent will discover the actor's dataset_schema.json, generate the right input, run it, and pipe the typed output back into your conversation.

Use with AI agents

This actor's output (organic SERP results, featured snippets, PAA, knowledge panels, plus optional AI SEO analysis as JSON) is agent-ready - drop it into a research agent, RAG pipeline, or SEO auditor as a tool. It's a direct Tavily / Serper / Brave Search API alternative with x402-ready per-result PPE and a Skyfire bundle, and the same run can feed rank tracking. Reference templates live at apify/actor-templates -> js-langchain and js-langgraph-agent.

LangChain - wrap as a Tool for a research / RAG agent:

from apify_client import ApifyClient
from langchain.tools import Tool

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")

def google_search(args: dict) -> list:
    run = client.actor("harvestlab/google-search-scraper").call(run_input={
        "queries": args["queries"],
        "country": args.get("country", "us"),
        "maxResults": args.get("maxResults", 10),
    })
    return list(client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items())

google_search_tool = Tool(
    name="google_search",
    description="Fresh Google SERP results + featured snippets. Use for research, RAG context, or SEO checks.",
    func=google_search,
)
# agent.invoke({"input": "..."}) -> agent calls google_search_tool.invoke({"queries": ["ai code editors 2026"], "country": "us"})

LangGraph - node in a research-agent graph:

from apify_client import ApifyClient
from langgraph.graph import StateGraph

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")

def serp_node(state: dict) -> dict:
    run = client.actor("harvestlab/google-search-scraper").call(run_input={
        "queries": [state["query"]],
        "country": state.get("country", "us"),
        "maxResults": 10,
    })
    item = next(client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items())
    return {
        "urls": [r["url"] for r in item["organic_results"]],
        "snippets": [r["snippet"] for r in item["organic_results"]],
        "featured_answer": (item.get("featured_snippet") or {}).get("snippet"),
    }

graph = StateGraph(dict)
graph.add_node("search", serp_node)
# wire into your research / synthesis / writer nodes downstream

Troubleshooting

CAPTCHA or "unusual traffic" block Google blocks datacenter IPs on popular commercial queries. Always use proxyConfiguration with RESIDENTIAL proxy group. You are never charged for blocked queries - only successful scrapes bill. If blocks persist on a specific query, rephrase as a long-tail variant ("ai news april 2026" instead of "ai news 2026") or reduce run frequency.

Fewer results than expected (e.g. 7 instead of 10) Google serves fewer organic results for navigational queries, rare queries, or when it fills space with Knowledge Panels, Shopping carousels, or AI Overviews. Try broadening the search term or removing quotes. AI Mode / AI Overview layouts (new generative-answer pages rolling out for commercial-intent queries) may return fewer <h3> headings - rephrase as a long-tail or informational query to get the traditional organic SERP.

Featured snippet not appearing in output Not all queries trigger featured snippets. The featured_snippet field is null when Google doesn't serve one. Question-format queries ("how to X", "what is Y") are more likely to trigger answer boxes.

Results differ from my browser Google personalizes results based on cookies, location, and search history. This actor uses a clean browser session with no cookies. Set country and language to match your target audience. Results for the same query may also vary by Google data center.

Rank tracking shows no diff on second run Confirm trackSerpDiff: true in both runs and that country/language match exactly between runs - the snapshot key is (query, country, language). Also verify the actor has permission to write to the google-serp-rank-history named key-value store.

AI analysis returns an error Confirm the API key is set either as an environment variable (OPENROUTER_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, or OPENAI_API_KEY) or in the corresponding input field. The error message names both paths. For Ollama, confirm ollamaBaseUrl is reachable from the Apify runner (self-hosted Ollama is not reachable from cloud runs unless tunneled).

Webhook not firing alertWebhookUrl requires trackSerpDiff: true (auto-enabled when a URL is set) and a prior baseline run. Webhooks fire only when change_score >= alertMinChangeScore (default 2). Check the actor log for [alert] lines - they show whether the webhook was dispatched, skipped (below threshold), or failed (timeout / non-2xx). Failed webhooks never fail the run and are not charged.

Legal and Compliance

This actor is provided as a technical tool. Users are solely responsible for ensuring their use complies with applicable laws and platform policies, including:

• Google's Terms of Service - Google's ToS restricts automated access to their services. Use this tool responsibly and at your own risk.
• Data protection regulations - GDPR (EU), CCPA (California), and equivalent local laws govern the collection and processing of any personal data encountered in search results.
• Local laws - Web scraping legality varies by jurisdiction. Users must verify compliance with applicable laws in their region and the region of the target data.

This actor extracts only publicly visible search result information - titles, URLs, and snippet text that Google displays to any anonymous visitor. It does not bypass authentication, access private data, or circumvent paywalls.

The developer of this actor is not responsible for any misuse, ToS violations, or legal consequences arising from its use. No personal data is stored by the actor beyond what Apify's standard dataset storage provides; consult the Apify Privacy Policy for data handling details.

Related Actors

• News Monitor - Track news mentions on the same competitor brand keywords you scrape SERPs for. Pair Google's organic / featured-snippet picture with real-time press coverage so SEO and PR teams see search rank shifts and the news cycles driving them in one workflow.
• Contact Extractor - Turn top-ranking SERP URLs into a lead list. Pipe result.url from Google Search Scraper into Contact Extractor to harvest SMTP-verified emails, phones, and tech-stack signals from every domain that ranks for your target query - link-building outreach and ICP discovery in one pass.
• Reddit Scraper - Layer community sentiment onto SERP keyword research. Run the same competitor and category terms through Reddit to see how real users discuss them, surfacing pain points and feature gaps that pure SERP data hides.